Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Cake

It's the one time of the year when everyone has a spring in their step.  Thoughts of "recession", "breakdown of the EU" and "austerity measures" that have followed us around like a bad smell over the past 11 months of the year are brushed under the carpet for a few weeks - January 1st is time enough to have to deal with these mindnumbingly depressing subjects.  We're all happy to sing along to Christmas songs in the supermarket, smile at a stranger on the street (not in a creepy way!) and say "Happy Christmas" to staff in shops as they gift wrap that last minute present that you're still not 100% sure about - best to hang on to the receipt just in case his eyes don't light up quite as you'd expect.

As it's the third week in December, Christmas has definitely arrived.  It's time I baked something a little bit Christmasy.  To ease myself slowly into the Christmas baking season, I saw half price cranberries in the supermarket - bingo, that sealed the deal.  I started off with this recipe on Baking Bites website but adapted it quite a bit.  This is such a lovely teatime cake, the lime and coconut combination goes so well with the tartiness of the cranberries.  Just to make it a little bit special I mixed some white rum with a few tablespoons of lime juice and poured it over the warm cake to keep it moist and to add a very subtle kick to it.  I would safely say that this is one of the nicest "plain" cakes I have tasted in a long time.  It's moist, it's sweet n' sour and the lime, coconut, rum combo is delicious.  I'm well chuffed with this creation!



Cranberry, Coconut and Lime Cake, inspired by Baking Bites

Ingredients
220g plain flour
375g sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
lime juice from 5 limes
1 tbsp lime zest
3 tbsp canola oil
2 large eggs
3 tbsp milk
130g fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries
50g desiccated coconut, plus an additional handful to sprinkle on top
2 tbsp white rum

Method
Preheat oven to 180C and lightly grease and flour a 2lb loaf tin.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together the milk and eggs.  Add in lime juice, lime zest from 4 of the 5 limes, oil, eggs and milk and whisk until just combined.
Use a spatula to stir in in cranberries and desiccated coconut, then pour out the batter into prepared tin.  Sprinkle a handful of desiccated coconut on the top of the cake.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
Mix together the juice of the remaining lime and the rum.  While the cake is still warm, use a skewer to insert holes and pour the mixture over.